coffers, and his government proposes that, yes, they have shared the wealth, and it's true that even according to the u.n. there are fewer people today living in poverty in venezuela than there were when chavez took office. you know, randi, there is a sense here that, look, his time is over, and that's not just because he fought cancer. he claims he's cancer-free but on the campaign trail he isn't looking very healthy, and there is this sense that chavez revolution, the very left wing socialist revolution that he started, could be waning and the problem is taking from government coffers they haven't really invested as much. if you start from that oil infrastructure moving right down to the roads, in caracas, in the capital or out to the regions where there's lots of power, this is a country hanging on by a fiscal threat and they say next year default is perhaps possible and for sure financial restructuring will have to happen, and that could mean a devaluation of the currency here. randi? >> paula, what is at stake really for the u.s. in this election. >> reporter: you know, it might